Texas Tech falls to No. 9 Arizona 85-57

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP)

''They played until the end, and that's what they're all
about,'' he said. ''We can't worry about what we didn't do against
Arizona, and we have to get our focus back, get our heads up.''

Arizona's height was something the Red Raiders hadn't dealt with
before and Walker knows his players have to ready for more of that
in Big 12 play.

''At the end of the day it's tough to score on teams with that
kind of length,'' he said. ''You play a team, they can get you
down, keep you down. They play with poise. You can't speed them up.
They've got size and experienced guards.''

Nick Johnson scored 18 points to lead the Wildcats, who remain
unbeaten after the 85-57 victory Saturday night.

The Wildcats dominated on the boards, pulling down 41 to the Red
Raiders 26, and got 16 second-chance points. They also got 21
points off 16 Texas Tech turnovers. The Red Raiders fell well below
their per-game point average. They came in averaging 88.8 points in
each of their wins.

''Until you go through that 35-game season being small you don't
realize how important size is, especially in quality players,''
said Arizona coach Sean Miller, whose team was undersized last
year. ''How that affects the game in so many ways and right now
with this year's team we have that to our advantage.''

Trailing 53-30, the Red Raiders used a 12-2 run, including a
3-pointer by Daylen Robinson and field goals by Jamal Williams and
Toddrick Gotcher, to pull within 13 with about 13 minutes remaining
in the game. But they couldn't whittle the deficit any more down
the stretch.

The Wildcats answered with a 22-3 run, including a dunk by
Johnson, two free throws by Lyons, a field goal by Hill and a
3-pointer by Grant Jerrett, to go up 77-45 with about five minutes
remaining to seal the victory.

Arizona led 45-28 at the half. Texas Tech's first-half points
were a season low.

The Wildcats hit five of six 3s during one stretch in the first
half to go ahead 30-18. Hill and Lyons each hit two and Johnson had
one during the spurt.

Tech got a quirky score in the first half after Tarczewski
grabbed a rebound beneath the Red Raiders bucket. Dejan Kravic
knocked it out of his hands and the ball went up in the air and
into the basket for a Texas Tech score.

Related Stories

Member Comments

Please note by clicking on "Post comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be Polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator.